John t



(N0 Modei.)

J. T. R. ROELOPFS.

RETRAGTOR.

No. 569,839,- Patented Oct. 20, 1896.

JOHN T. R. ROELOFFS,

FFICE.

PATENT OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

'RETRACTO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 569,839, dated October20, 1896.

Application filed December 11, 1895. Serial No. 571,738. (No model.)

To ttZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN '1. R. ROELOFFS, a citizen of the Empire ofGermany, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Retractors, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has reference to an improved retractor or instrumentwhich is used by surgeons for dilating the borders of a wound that hasto be treated, the tension of the instrument being capable of adjustmentso that the wound is held automatically in open position for operatingwithout requiring an assistant for this purpose; and the inventionconsists of a surgical instrument or retractor composed of a V-shapedspring-holder, a screw for ad justing the tension of said holder,sockets at the ends of the legs of the holder, and dilators which arearranged at right angles to the legs and connected with the sockets insuch a manner as to turn freely therein, so as to adapt themselves tothe direction of the borders of the wound and be readily detached andinserted into said sockets.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective View ofniyimproved retractor. Figs. 2, 3, and d are side views, Fig. 4c partlyin section, of different shapes of dilators and of various connectionsof the same with the sockets of the spring-holder; and Fig. 5 is avertical transverse section on line 5 5, Fig. 1, drawn on a largerscale.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a V-shaped holder,whicl1 is madeof good springsteel and the legs a of which are connected by arounded-off portion a. To one leg of the sprin g-holder A is riveted arecessed lug b, to which is detachably pivoted the inner end of a curvedscrew B, that passes through a slotted opening b in the other leg of thespringholder A and carries a screw-nut B, by which the distance betweenthe legs of the springholder is adjusted. The sides of the curved screwB are preferably flattened, so as to pass freely through the opening I),while the outer end of the screw is provided with a small head 12*, thatis riveted or otherwise fastened thereto, so as to prevent the playingoff and detaching of the adjusting screw-nut B.

The pivot b of the curved screw B is threaded at one end and providedwith a nicked head at the other end, so that the screw B can be readilydisconnected from the spring-holder for cleaning and sterilizingpurposes.

The legs a of the spring-holder A are provided at their outer ends withsockets d d, which are preferably bent up integrally from the legs, saidsockets serving for receiving the shanks (Z' of detachable andinterchangeable dilators D D, which are secured to said sockets by meansof a suitable bayonet-joint, in which case the shank is provided with astud (P, that passes through a straight offset slot d in the socketuntil it arrives above the socket, so that the dilating-hook can freelyturn in either direction in the socket and adapt itself automatically tothe direction of the borders of the wound. In place of the connectionshown a screw (Z may be used, which engages an annular groove (1 in theshank of the hook, or any other construction may be employed by whichthe connection of the detachable dilators with the sockets and the axialrotation of the same in the sockets is obtained.

-The dilators D may either be made in the form of forks having two ormore tines, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or in the shape of blunt-edgedblades, as shown, respectively, in Figs. 3 and 4, either one of whichcan be readily used in connection with the springholder A, according tothe character of the wound and the tissues to be dilated. Eachinstrument is preferably furnished with four pairs of dilators, namely,two pairs of forked dilators of diflt'erent sizes and two pairs of bladeor scoop-shaped dilators, also of difierent sizes, but also otherattachments may be used with the instrument, such as speculum branches,d c.

Then the instrument is to be used, the legs are adjusted by the screw Band screw-nut B to about the width to which the wound or other body isto be dilated. The required size of dilating-hooks are then placed inthe sockets of the legs in such a position that they extend in oppositedirections to each other. The legs of the instrument are then compressedand the dilators inserted into the wound or other object, after whichthe legs are slowly released until the tissues are dilated and held inposition so that the wound can be readily treated or operated on withoutrequiring a special assistant to hold the same in distended position.

My improved retractor forms a useful instrument in surgical operationsand in the treatment of wounds, and has the advantage that it can bereadily carried along in a suitable case, quickly applied for use, andeasily cleaned and sterilized, as the different component parts can bereadily taken apart for this purpose.

Theinstrument is finished in suitable manner, care being taken that theadjustingscrew is unscrewed, so that the spring-holder can expand fullywhen replaced in its case, so that its proper spring-tension isretained.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and. desire to secureby Letters Patent- A retractor or surgical instrument for dilating aWound or other object, which consists of a spring-holder having legsprovided at their outer ends with sockets, arranged at approximate rightangles to said legs, means for adjusting the distance between the legsof the spring-holder, detachable dilators provided with shanks, andmeans for retaining the shanks of said dilators in said sockets, whereby the dilators are arranged at approximate right angles to the legs andmay turn freely in the sockets, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN T. R. ROELOFFS.

Witnesses; l

PAUL GOEPEL, GEO. W. JAEKEL.

